And then
by Carla
Summary: Post 302. Addisoncentric and quite fluffy. Addison Montgomery has started a new life after her divorce, and is thinking about the the way things have changed on a very special day.


**And then…**

**By Carla**

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Damn, I hate admitting that.

I was in the mood for something fluffy, and I'm way too riled up with the new season, so I had to write this little piece since I don't get the third season on my country yet.

Addison tried to think about a moment in her life that could possibly compare to how perfect this one was. She tried to remember a time when she wanted something different; a second that had her filled which as much love and devotion as this moment. She took a deep breath and laid her hand over his chest, feeling it raise and drop as he breathed, snuggling closer to him in the bed. Her eyes locked with his, a hazel colored stare she knew by heart now, and she released the breath she had been holding.

This was perfection.

He was perfection.

He looked at her, stared deep into her soul, reclaiming his hold over her, reminding him that he knew her in a way that no one else ever would. She stared back at him, vowing to never ever love another person as much as she loved him. She couldn't even begin to phantom being capable of loving someone else the way she loved him.

And somehow, she got the feeling that he knew that.

She wondered how could he possibly know that he had her on his hold, and she was not even slightly interested in breaking free of his enchant.

"Hey." She looked up to see her husband approaching her, a huge grin on his face, holding a cup of coffee he had claimed to need before leaving her room.

"Hey yourself." She smiled, falling in love all over again with his eyes.

"How are you doing?" he asked, still smiling, sitting by his side on the bed, gently as to not jolt her.

"Never better."

"Good. How's the little man?" he asked, leaving his cup by her nightstand, so he could lay his hand over hers, covering their son's chest.

"Quiet now. Finally. He really knows how to wail, I think you and I are in for more than our fare share of sleepless nights."

"Comes with the territory, I guess." He smiled, kissing her forehead slowly, and taking the infant in his arms. Then, he sat next to Addison, resting on her pillows, and laid the baby over his chest. Addison's hand immediately came to count her son's fingers again.

She loved counting his fingers.

"What are you doing? You are not supposed to make yourself comfortable in my bed. This is a hospital!" she exclaimed, trying to muster some tiny bit of outrage to back up her words.

"Richard hates my guts anyway." He laughed, giving her his devil-may-care smile. "Plus, what am I suppose to do? I though my job description included taking care of you and Junior here. So, you guys have to stay at the hospital, I stay at the hospital."

"Don't call him Junior…"

"Come on, Addie! Junior…"

"We are not naming him after you, Mark!" she slapped him playfully on the arm, but not strongly enough to disturb their son, who had gone back to sleep. He laughed, caressing the baby's cheek.

"Why not? He's my kid, you know. I get to name him Mark Sloan Jr."

"No way! I want him to have his own name."

"Mark is a great name."

"I don't care. His name is not Mark."

"Not Mark?"

"Not Mark." She confirmed confidently.

"So… he's just like, anything but Mark?"

"Anything but Mark!" she replied self-assuredly.

"You're a mean, mean woman, you know that?"

"But you love me." She smiled, snaking her arm around his waist and kissing him in the jaw.

"But I love you."

"I want him to have his own name." she repeated, softly this time.

"Okay, we choose a name."

"I've being thinking names over. So far, I'm thinking Eric…"

"I don't like Eric."

"Okay… Aidan."

"Aidan? Aidan Sloan? Sounds kinda weird."

"Alright, what about Jeremy."

"I had a hamster named Jeremy when I was six."

"Okay, genius. You come up with a name then."

"Okay, I will." He smiled smugly, succeeding in annoying her. "So far, I've being leaning towards Thomas."

"Thomas?"

"Nothing flashy. I just like it. Thomas Christopher Sloan."

"You already had a middle name."

"He's my little man. I owe to him to have a middle name. Plus, I knew the Junior thing wouldn't fly." he smiled, breathing the beautiful scent of the baby boy laying on his chest. How about it, Tommy?"

"Tommy?" Addison mulled over, "Tommy. I like Tommy."

"Me too."

"Tommy."

"Yeah."

"We have a son, Mark. We have a son named Tommy."

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"Yeah." She smiled, kissing him on the lips. Sadly, she had to pull away before things escalated. They hadn't had sex in… God! Since her fourth month of pregnancy, when they had found she had a shortened cervix and her OB/GYN instructed them to refrain from having sex until after the baby was born. And now, merely twelve hours after she had given birth to their beloved child, she was too sore to actually take advantage of the gorgeous man laying by her side.

"I love you so much, Addison."

"I love you too, babe." She smiled, at least comforted in the fact that although physical intimacy had being impossible, he had still managed to make her feel loved and worshiped throughout her pregnancy.

"I'm so happy we have a baby." He laughed. But he didn't need to say it, Addison already knew, it was obvious, written all over his eyes.

"I'm glad you came to Seattle."

"Oh, you mean you're glad I came to Seattle after your marriage ended to play your boy-toy? And that I managed to knock you up?"

"Shut up!" she laughed, "I hate that expression."

"I know." He smiled cheekily. At that moment, there was nothing she wanted more than for Tommy to inherit his father's smile.

"I'm glad you came. I'm glad you and I are together, and I love that you're Tommy's father."

"I love being Tommy's father too."

"I never thanked you." She whispered, ensnaring her fingers with him, raising her head slowly so that she could kiss her baby on the nose.

"For impregnating you?"

"Mark!"

"Sorry."

"Seriously. I never thank you for coming."

"Addie, you needed me. How could I not be there for you?"

"No Mark, it was more than that. Being there for me was answering the phone in spite of how much I had hurt you. Talking with me and listening as I cried over the phone. Calling to check up on me the next day. But you, you dropped everything, rushed to the airport and traveled across the country just to make sure I was alright, or at the very least that I wouldn't be all alone."

"You have nothing to thank me about. I love you. Anything else doesn't matter. I love you and I'm always going to be there."

"I know. And I will be there for you too."

"I know you will."

She smiled, staring back into his hazel and familiar eyes, remembering what a big place in her heart this man held. Just as big as the one she had just found for her son. She could remember it all, and she managed to hold back the tears while everything flashed behind her eyes.

_Damn hormones…_

After finding out about Derek and Meredith, she had gotten as drunk as humanly possible. After getting appropriately inebriated, she had somehow managed to call all the way to New York. She couldn't remember much, but later on Mark confirmed there was a lot of hysterical crying and cursing her soon-to-be ex-husband. She had gone back to her hotel room that night, only to find him sitting by the door, holding a vodka bottle. She had let him in and begged him to make her feel beautiful again.

He had complied.

Then, everything was a haze… Derek walking in, Mark in a towel, more crying, going back to work, asking him repeatedly to go back home only to find out he had signed on as Head of Plastics as SGH, so he could be with her. Then, they somehow had managed to turn back into their old habits. First, their friendship was rediscovered; he sought her out whenever he had the chance, sometimes bringing her coffee or a sandwich. And she had watch him perform surgery whenever she was free, stopping by his office now and then to propose an outing. They ate lunch together, they left together. Before she knew it, they had gotten back to the on-call rooms and supplies closets. They had gotten back to lovers and rekindled the chemistry they had allowed to drag them to the low points in their lives back at New York. It had been way too easy, so much that she no longer noticed Derek and Meredith and their elevators. She was too busy wondering when would Mark pop up again to tell her she was beautiful and that he loved her.

Then the pregnancy test had turned out positive.

At first she was terrified, she didn't know what to do and for a moment there even forgot how to breathe. Still, she had felt his strong arms around her as he dropped a kiss on her hair, promising her they were going to figure it out. They decided to table the conversation for the next morning and had gotten back to bed, only then Addison realizing Mark was practically living in her new apartment, and that his things had made their way into her drawers.

Three hours later, she had woken him up and told him she wanted to keep the baby.

He had smiled joyfully, holding her close and tight, and thanked her.

Months went by and he was there for everything. Morning sickness, soreness, cramps, cravings… it wasn't an easy pregnancy at all, but having him by her side had helped a lot. When in her 30th week she had fainted while doing rounds and had been laid on bed rest after she had been diagnosed with preeclampsia, he had taken leave with her, so he could take care of his family.

That's how he had put it when Mark told Richard about taking time, and Addison had felt insanely content with his choice of words.

In her 38th week, she had gotten into labor. The baby was a little bit early, but strong, so he didn't need to be in the NICU.

And now, she was laying on her hospital bed, with Mark by her side and their baby Tommy sleeping on his father's chest. This was her life now. They had stayed on Seattle; she didn't feel like facing her old life back in New York, not when this new one was so amazing. All the things that had been eating at her when she called Mark all those nights ago, they were gone. Her heart was all healed, she couldn't care less about Derek and Meredith… she knew they we having problems, but it was not her problem anymore. So Derek moped around the hospital with his huge puppy eyes. So he had had a hard time hiding the emotion on his face during her pregnancy, whenever he would walk to the nurse's station only to find Mark caressing her growing belly. She was free; she was finally free of her life with Derek.

She had a chance to be happy.

So, she had taken her chances… and that had gotten her two beautiful boys with hazel eyes.

"Addie?" she heard Mark whisper by her side, taking her hand in his and staring intensely into her eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Marry me."


End file.
